To make refried beans all you have to do is take your cooked pinto beans and mash them up and fry them in a little oil in the skillet. I haven't made them this way in a really long time, but here's a good recipe I remember-
Fry bacon in the skillet first, then you drain the grease for the most part, but leave a little along with the good drippings in the pan. Then fry your beans in that and crumble the bacon into them. Top that with some cheddar cheese. It was pretty yummy!

I have been trying to have a meatless meal night every week for my family to try to help on the budget. I have found myself using beans and pasta together alot for this. Beans and rice is always good too. Here's a recipe we had this week and it got a good review from my bunch:

soak beans and cook according to directions. You can do this part in your slow cooker if you'd like. Cook and drain pasta. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over med-low heat. Saute garlic then add in tomatoes, beans, olives and basil. Cook uncovered for 5 minutes stirring frequently. Stir in pasta. Add parmesan, salt and pepper to taste.
I wanted to make this a total one dish meal so I also added in some frozen broccoli when I added the tomatoes and stuff.

Also if you add a couple of tablespoons of vinegar to the water you are cooking your beans in they will cook up tender. It doesn't give them a vinegar taste either and supposedly the vinegar will also cause you to produce less gas after you eat the beans.